Related

VANCOUVER — The B.C. Lions were at this point at the same juncture last season -- 4-2 after six games -- en route to a 13-5 finish, the best in the Canadian Football League.

It would be a stretch, though, to suggest this year’s version of the Lions is on the same trajectory as the previous one, based on the opening third of the 2013 season.

Even when they win, the latter-day Lions don’t look all that impressive. And when the lose, they’re never equivocal about it. The Lions go down hard -- 38-12 to Toronto, 44-32 to Calgary (after being down 31-6 at the half).

Monday’s 27-20 win over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers at BC Place was another case where the Lions lacked style points, yet emerged victorious, largely because the Bombers are still getting their act together with first-time starter Justin Goltz. And because the Bombers are, well, the Bombers -- now 14-38 in their past 52 games.

Travis Lulay, who has had his personal struggles with Winnipeg during his career as the Lions starter, threw three touchdown passes and posted a clean sheet as far as interceptions go. Not to disparage that sterling performance in any way, but the Blue Bombers do have a habit of making rival QBs look like Doug Flutie or Johnny Unitas.

Two weeks earlier, Toronto’s Ricky Ray was close to El Perfecto against the Blue Bombers, completing 19 of 20 passes for 286 yards and a pair of touchdowns. On July 26, Calgary third-stringer Bo Levi Mitchell lit up the Bombers for 376 passing yards and three touchdowns in his first CFL start.

Lulay did what was asked of him Monday evening with his trio of touchdown throws, atoning for a red zone debacle six days earlier in Toronto. In that game, the Lions reached the Toronto 10-yard line on four occasions and only came away

with field goals. Indeed, the same scenario played out again Monday, on B.C.‘s first offensive series, when the Lions got to the Winnipeg nine-yard line but had to settle for another Paul McCallum field goal, after Lulay was sacked.

Still, Lulay, who had a lowly career quarterback rating of 78.8 versus Winnipeg going into the game (his lowest against any of the CFL’s seven other teams), did what 26,856 fans expected him to do. He was consistently on point in a less than convincing win by the Lions.

“If we play the way we are now in the last third of the season, we’d be disappointed,” he explained. “We want to continue to get better as the season wears on. The thing I feel good about is we have been able to bounce back. All we were hearing about the last week was the ‘red zone’ thing (the team’s inability to score touchdowns from the 20-yard line). Tonight, we were able to put some sevens of the board. That’s huge. The biggest thing is the lulls in between, the two-and-outs. We have to be better, and I’m confident we will be.”

Lulay’s third touchdown pass of the game came with 6:19 left in the fourth quarter, an 11-yard toss to Courtney Taylor that gave the Lions the nine-point cushion they ended up needing.

After Mike Renaud’s 59-yard single tied the game at 17-17 in the third quarter, the Blue Blue Bombers decided to concede a two-point safety after McCallum’s coffin corner punt pinned Winnipeg at its one-yard line. McCallum’s punt partially atoned for three mistakes by the veteran in an adventure-filled fourth quarter. He missed field goals from 46 and 45 yards away (ending a streak of 23 successful attempts going back to last season) and shanked a punt in the final minute that gave Winnipeg life and resulted in some anxious moments for the Lions’ defence. Eric Taylor’s sack of Goltz at mid-field with nine seconds left on the clock finally killed the suspense. It was only the Lions’ 11th quarterback sack of the season, tying them with Toronto for seventh in the CFL tables.

McCallum, who is normally money in the bank in crucial situations, was kicking himself later for mistakes that made the game tighter than it should have been.

“I came around too much on both of them,” McCallum explained of his missed field goals. “Exactly the same thing happened. That punt I had there at the end (two yards; McCallum was penalized another 10 yards for an illegal punt) was brutal. I lifted my head, trying to be too cute, instead of just hammering the ball. I’m sure glad it didn’t cost the team a win.”

Lulay threw a pair of touchdowns in the first half -- to Korey Williams, his first in the CFL, and Shawn Gore -- as the Lions took a 17-16 lead into intermission. He missed on only two of 17 pass attempts in the first half and ended the game with 268 yards on 28-of-39 passing and no interceptions.

Still no 300-yard game on his resume yet, but he’ll take the win.

“Honestly, that doesn’t come into my thoughts,” Lulay said. “If I’m concerned about the statistics, I’m concerned about the wrong stuff. If we were losing games, and playing catch-up all the time, I’d probably throw for more yards. But yardage is not what we’re trying to accomplish here.”

His performance came six days after Lulay had a personal touchdown streak stopped against Toronto. He had thrown at least once touchdown pass in 36 consecutive games before the 26-point loss. The Lions failed to score a touchdown in the Toronto game for the first time since Nov. 5, 2005 -- a span of 131 regular-season games.

Among other concerns is the state of the Lions’ special teams, especially the return game, which has languished at the bottom of the league. The situation took one step forward against the Bombers, and one step back after Tim Brown made misplayed a punt from Renaud that the Blue Bombers recovered at B.C.’s 21-yard line and later turned into a touchdown.

“I like to get under it, but I didn’t get under like I like to,” Brown explained. “It was wobbly ball, and it got away from me.”

Despite their 4-2 record, there is indeed a slight list and wobble to their gait as the Lions head into a bye week.

Comments

We encourage all readers to share their views on our articles and blog posts. We are committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion, so we ask you to avoid personal attacks, and please keep your comments relevant and respectful. If you encounter a comment that is abusive, click the "X" in the upper right corner of the comment box to report spam or abuse. We are using Facebook commenting. Visit our FAQ page for more information.

Saskatoon loves its Christmas lights. The Enchanted Forest draws thousands of vehicles each week. The late Bob Hinitt worked for months building his light display, which drew thousands of cars each year to Wiggins Avenue. And Scott Lambie on Clinkskill Drive has continued the tradition with more than 70,000 dancing lights (up from 50,000 last […]

When it comes to gift giving, they say it’s the thought that counts. But many are wondering if Mayor Drew Dilkens was thinking at all when he gave Olympic superstar Michael Phelps — whose battles with booze are well known — a big bottle of Canadian Club whisky.

Almost Done!

Postmedia wants to improve your reading experience as well as share the best deals and promotions from our advertisers with you. The information below will be used to optimize the content and make ads across the network more relevant to you. You can always change the information you share with us by editing your profile.

By clicking "Create Account", I hearby grant permission to Postmedia to use my account information to create my account.

I also accept and agree to be bound by Postmedia's Terms and Conditions with respect to my use of the Site and I have read and understand Postmedia's Privacy Statement. I consent to the collection, use, maintenance, and disclosure of my information in accordance with the Postmedia's Privacy Policy.

Postmedia wants to improve your reading experience as well as share the best deals and promotions from our advertisers with you. The information below will be used to optimize the content and make ads across the network more relevant to you. You can always change the information you share with us by editing your profile.

By clicking "Create Account", I hearby grant permission to Postmedia to use my account information to create my account.

I also accept and agree to be bound by Postmedia's Terms and Conditions with respect to my use of the Site and I have read and understand Postmedia's Privacy Statement. I consent to the collection, use, maintenance, and disclosure of my information in accordance with the Postmedia's Privacy Policy.